Thermal shield for system for generating electric power

ABSTRACT

A thermal shield for a system for generating electric power may include a sheet of material configured to be operably associated with an engine of the system for generating electric power such that heat from the engine is deflected back toward the engine. The sheet of material may define a generally rectangular shape defining a length dimension and a width dimension, and the length dimension may be configured to generally correspond to a length defined by the engine.

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/129,417, filed Jun. 25, 2008, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a thermal shield, and moreparticularly, to a thermal shield for a system for generating electricpower.

BACKGROUND

It may be desirable to generate electric power, for example, insituations in which electric power is not available from an electricpower utility source, for example, in remote locations and/or locationsexperiencing a power outage. This may be accomplished, for example,using electric power generation systems that are configured to generateelectric power via operation of one or more internal combustion enginesto drive an electric machine configured to convert mechanical powersupplied by the one or more engines into electric power.

Such power generation systems may be configured to facilitate transportof the power generation system to a location where such power generationis desired. Some such systems may be housed in, for example, a containersuch as a trailer, and operation of the engine(s) and/or electricmachine may result in accumulation of heat inside the container. Thus,it may be desirable to prevent an accumulation of heat within thecontainer in order to improve operation of the power generation system.

A portable power module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,007,966, issuedto Campion (“the '966 patent”). The '966 patent discloses air ducts fora portable power module trailerable over public roads. The portablepower module includes a shipping container housing a gaseous fuel motordrivably connected to an electrical generator. The '966 patent disclosesair ducts positioned on a side of the container, which introduce ambientair into the container for cooling of the motor and the generator andfor combustion in the motor. The '966 patent does not disclose, however,a thermal shield for the power modules disclosed in the '966 patent.

The systems and methods described in an exemplary manner in the presentdisclosure may be directed to mitigating or overcoming one or more ofthe drawbacks set forth above.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure includes a thermal shield for asystem for generating electric power. The thermal shield may include asheet of material configured to be operably associated with an engine ofthe system for generating electric power such that heat from the engineis deflected back toward the engine. The sheet of material may define agenerally rectangular shape defining a length dimension and a widthdimension, and the length dimension may be configured to generallycorrespond to a length defined by the engine.

According to a further aspect, a system for generating electric powermay include an engine configured to output mechanical power and anelectric machine configured to convert mechanical power into electricpower. The electric machine may be operably coupled to the engine. Thesystem may further include a housing defining an area containing theengine and at least one air passage configured to provide flowcommunication between an exterior of the housing an the area. The systemmay also include at least one panel operably associated with the engineand configured to deflect heat associated with operation of the engine.

According to another aspect, a method for increasing the effectivenessof a heat exchanger associated with a system for generating electricpower may include operably associating at least one panel with an engineof the system, such that the at least one panel is provided between theengine and a wall of a housing containing the engine and the heatexchanger. The method may further include flowing air to the heatexchanger between the at least one panel and the wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic, partial cutaway plan view of an exemplaryembodiment of a system for generating electric power.

FIG. 2 is a schematic, partial cutaway elevation view of the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic, partial cutaway perspective view of an exemplaryembodiment of a system for generating electric power.

FIG. 4 is a schematic, plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a thermalshield and an engine.

FIG. 5 is a schematic, elevation view of the exemplary embodiment shownin FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of athermal shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a system 10 for generatingelectric power. System 10 may include an engine 12 configured to supplymechanical power and an electric machine 14 operably coupled to engine12 and configured to convert mechanical power into electric power.Engine 12 may be any internal combustion engine, including aspark-ignition engine, a compression ignition engine, ahomogeneous-charge compression-ignition engine, and/or a gas turbineengine. Engine 12 may be configured to run on any fuel, such as, forexample, gasoline, diesel fuel including bio-diesel fuel, natural gas,ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, and/or any combinations thereof. Othertypes of engines and fuels are contemplated. Electric machine 14 may beany type of electric generator known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, electric machine 14 may include a three-phase AC synchronousgenerator.

System 10 may further include power load connections 16 configured tofacilitate supply of electric power generated by system 10 to any deviceor system that receives input of a source of electric power, such as,for example, a power grid. According to some embodiments, a number ofsystems 10 may be coupled to one another and/or used together to supplyadditional electric power.

As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, exemplary system 10 may include one ormore control panels 18 configured to control operation of engine 12,electric machine 14, and/or any systems associated with system 10. Forexample, control panel(s) 18 may include electronic control systemsconfigured to control operation of engine 12 and/or electric machine 14,such that system 10 supplies electric power in a desired and/orcontrolled manner. According to some embodiments, control panel 18 mayinclude an interface for providing an operator with information or datarelating to operation of engine 12 and/or electric machine 14, andfurther, may include controls configured to facilitate an operator'sability to control operation of engine 12, electric machine 14, and/orany other systems associated with system 10. For example, control panel18 may facilitate an operator's control of the electric power output ofsystem 10, for example, by controlling the voltage and frequency of thepower output.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, system 10may include a housing 20 configured to provide protection and/ortransportability to various components of system 10. For example,housing 20 may include walls, for example, opposing side walls 22, afront wall 24, and one or more rear doors 26, a floor 28, and a roof 30,defining an exterior and, possibly also, an interior of housing 20.According to some embodiments, system 10 may include one or more devices32 configured to facilitate transport of system 10 between sites thatmay desire a supply of electric power. For example, the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a number of wheels for facilitatingtowing of system 10 via a vehicle, such as a truck or tractor (e.g.,housing 20 may be in the form at least similar to a trailer configuredto be towed in a manner similar to trailers of a tractor trailer rig).Other types of devices 32 (e.g., tracks, wheels configured to travelalong railroad tracks, pontoons, and/or skids) known to those skilled inthe art are contemplated. As explained in more detail herein, someembodiments of housing 20 may define one or more passages between anexterior of housing 20 and an interior of housing 20.

According to some embodiments, system 10 may include a reservoir 34(e.g., a fuel tank) within the interior of housing 20 for providing asupply of fuel to engine 12. Reservoir 34 may be coupled to engine 12via one or more fuels lines (not shown). According to some embodiments,reservoir 34 may be located external to housing 20 and/or fuel may besupplied via an external source, such as, for example, a pipe line forsupplying a fuel, such as, for example, gasoline, diesel fuel, naturalgas, hydrogen, ethanol, methanol, and/or any combinations thereof.

According to some embodiments, system 10 may include a cooling system 36configured to regulate the temperature of engine 12 and/or electricmachine 14. For example, cooling system 36 may include one or more heatexchangers 38, such as, for example, one or moreair-to-air-after-coolers (ATAAC) operably coupled to engine 12 and/orone or more radiators 40, such as, for example, a jacket water radiator,operably coupled to engine 12. According to some embodiments, engine 12may include one or more turbochargers (not shown), and heat exchanger(s)38 may be operably coupled to the one or more turbochargers to cool airentering the turbocharger(s). System 10 may include one or more fans 41,for example, located between engine 12 and heat exchanger(s) 38. Fan(s)41 may be operably coupled to engine 12 via a drive belt (not shown)and/or may be driven via an electric motor (not shown), and may supply aflow of air to and/or through heat exchanger 38 in order to providecooling air to heat exchanger 38.

Exemplary radiator(s) 40 may be configured to receive and cool a flow ofcoolant (e.g., a liquid coolant), which may be circulated into and/orthrough engine 12 via coolant lines (not shown), thereby cooling engine12. One or more fans 42 may be associated with radiator 40 and may beconfigured to provide a flow of cooling air to radiator 40. Fan(s) 42may be driven, for example, via an electric motor (not shown), which maybe coupled to fan 42 via, for example, a belt drive (not shown).

According to some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, housing 20 mayinclude a partition 43 positioned between heat exchanger 38 and radiator40. One or more of side walls 22 of housing 20 may include air passages45 (e.g., louvers (see FIG. 3)) configured to permit passage of air intoand/or out of housing 20. Further, roof 30 of housing 20 may define oneor more openings 50 located in the vicinity of (e.g., adjacent to) heatexchanger 38 and/or radiator 40. According to some embodiments, fan(s)41 associated with heat exchanger 38 may be configured to draw air intohousing 20 at A via passages 45 and through heat exchanger 38 at B (seeFIGS. 2 and 3). Upon flow though heat exchanger 38, the air may bediverted via partition 43 and through opening(s) 50 in roof 30 at C.

According to some embodiments, fan(s) 30 may be configured to draw airinto and through radiator 40 via an open end of housing 20, for example,via opening one or more of rear doors 26 (or via openings (not shown) inrear doors 26) at D, where the air may then be diverted via partition 43and out opening(s) 50 in roof 38 at E.

According to some embodiments, engine 12 may include an exhaust system44 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) configured to remove heat and/or combustionproducts from housing 20. For example, exhaust system 44 may include aroof-mounted muffler 46 in flow communication with engine 12. Exhaustsystem 44 may further include one or more extensions 48 downstream ofmuffler 46 configured to provide a flow path for exhaust gas from engine12 to the exterior of housing 20 via muffler 46. For example, as shownin FIG. 1, extension(s) 48 may extend above heat exchanger 38 frommuffler 46 to one or more opening(s) 50 in roof 30, such that exhaustgas exits via opening(s) 50.

According to some embodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, system10 may include an interface 52 for facilitating control and/ormonitoring of system 10. For example, interface 52 may includeelectrical connectors for facilitating electric connection betweencontroller(s) 18 and systems located exterior to housing 20 forfacilitating, for example, load sharing between power generationsystems, provision of shore power (e.g., power for battery chargersand/or control system associated with system 10), and/or monitoring ofthe status of system 10.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, according to some embodiments, system 10 mayinclude one or more panels 54 configured to shield thermal energy (e.g.,heat) that may associated with operation of engine 12. For example,panel(s) 54 may be operably coupled to opposite sides of engine 12, andmay serve to deflect and/or reflect heat from engine 12. For example,panels 54 may be operably coupled via brackets and/or directly to engine12. For example, panels 54 may be operably coupled to an engine block 55of engine 12, to intake passages 57 (e.g., intake plenum or manifold),and/or exhaust passages (e.g., exhaust manifold) (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 6, panels 54 may define a length dimension L and widthdimension W. Length L and width W may depend, for example, on a lengthdimension and/or a height dimension associated with engine 12. Forexample, length L of panels 54 may generally correspond to the length ofengine block 55 or cylinder heads (not shown) of engine 12. Width W maygenerally correspond to the height dimension of engine 12 between, forexample, a lower edge of the cylinder heads up to intake passages 57.Alternatively, length L and/or width W may be longer or shorter, forexample, width W may be selected such that panels 54 extend from a loweredge of engine block 55 to an upper edge of the cylinder heads, or eventto the lower edge of intake passages 57. According to some embodiments,panels 54 (i.e., panels 54 include two panels located on opposite sidesof engine 12, as shown in FIG. 4) may have differing dimensions and/orconfigurations.

According to some embodiments, panels 54 may be formed of sheet steel,or any other suitable material. For example, panels 54 may be formed ofa sheet of material having a thickness ranging from about 10 gage toabout 20 gage, for example, from about 14 gage to about 16 gage.According to some embodiments, panels 54 may include configurationsand/or portions that serve to increase the stiffness of panels 54, forexample, to reduce vibration and/or noise. For example, as shown in FIG.6, exemplary panels 54 include a flange 56 extending along an upper edge58 of panel 54. Panel 54 may further include a flange 60 extending alonga lower edge 62 of panel 54. Flanges 56 and/or 60 may be formedintegrally with panel 54 or may be formed separately and may be operablycoupled to panel 54, via welding and/or fasteners, such as screws,bolts, and/or rivets. Flanges 56 and 60 may extend from panel 54 ineither direction, for example, in the same direction or in oppositedirections. Panels 54 may also define configurations 64 (i.e., relativeto panel 54 defining a substantially rectangular shape), for example,edge configurations and/or portions cut-out from the interior of panel54. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, panel 54 defines an edgeconfiguration at 64 in the shape of a triangle removed from a corner ofpanel 54. Configurations 64 may define any rectilinear and/orcurvilinear shape and may serve to provide clearance for parts of system10, for example, parts associated with engine 12.

According to some embodiments (see FIGS. 4 and 5), thermal insulation 66may be provided around plumbing associated with heat exchanger 38 and/orradiator 40. For example, thermal insulation 66 may include anyinsulation blanket material, such as, for example, a blanket having awoven and/or non-woven cloth and a cover (e.g., a nylon blanket having asilicon cover). Exemplary insulation 66 may serve to prevent exchange ofheat between, for example, plumbing associated with heat exchanger 38and/or radiators 40, and the interior of housing 20. This may result inreducing the temperature of the air in portions of housing 20 throughwhich cooling air flows, for example, from exemplary air passages 45 toheat exchanger 38.

As shown in FIG. 3, for example, fan(s) 41 associated with heatexchanger 38 maybe configured to draw air into housing 20 at A viapassages 45 and into area 68 in the interior of housing 20. Area 68 mayserve to enclose, for example, engine 12 and/or electric machine 14.Fan(s) 41 may draw air from area 68 through heat exchanger 38 at B. Uponflow though heat exchanger 38, the air may be diverted via partition 43and through opening(s) 50 in roof 30 at C.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Exemplary system 10 may be used to generate electric power, for example,in situations in which electric power is not available from an electricpower utility source, for example, in remote locations and/or locationsexperiencing a power outage. One or more engines 12 of exemplary system10 may be configured to output mechanical power, and one or moreelectric machines 14 may be configured to convert mechanical power intoelectric power. One or more control panels 18 may be configured tofacilitate control of at least one of engine 12 and electric machine 14.Housing 20 may be configured to contain at least one of engine 12 andelectric machine 14.

System 10 may be provided with one or more panels 54, which may beconfigured to shield thermal energy (e.g., heat) that may associatedwith operation of engine 12. For example, panels 54 may be operablycoupled to opposite sides of engine 12 and may serve to deflect and/orreflect heat (e.g., radiant heat) from engine 12. According to someembodiments, panels 54 may serve to shield heat from engine 12 duringoperation and reduce the effects of such heat in increasing thetemperature of the air as it flows through area 68 before flowingthrough heat exchanger(s) 38. This may serve to increase theeffectiveness of heat exchanger 38 in cooling air entering one or moreintake passages (or turbochargers) associated with engine 12. This, inturn, may increase the efficiency of engine 12 and/or reduce emissionsassociated with operation of engine 12. According to some embodiments,thermal insulation 66 may serve an at least similar function.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the exemplary disclosedsystems for generating electric power. Other embodiments will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the exemplary disclosed systems andmethods. It is intended that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only.

1. A thermal shield for a system for generating electric power, thethermal shield comprising: a sheet of material configured to be operablyassociated with an engine of the system for generating electric powersuch that heat from the engine is deflected back toward the engine,wherein the sheet of material defines a generally rectangular shapedefining a length dimension and a width dimension, and wherein thelength dimension is configured to generally correspond to a lengthdefined by the engine.
 2. The thermal shield of claim 1, furtherincluding at least one portion configured to increase the stiffness ofthe sheet of material.
 3. The thermal shield of claim 2, wherein the atleast one portion includes a flange operably associated with the sheetof material.
 4. The thermal shield of claim 3, wherein the flange isintegrally formed with the sheet of material.
 5. The thermal shield ofclaim 1, wherein the sheet of material is configured to be operablycoupled to the engine.
 6. The thermal shield of claim 5, wherein thesheet of material is configured to be operably coupled to a block of theengine.
 7. The thermal shield of claim 5, wherein the sheet of materialis configured to be operably coupled to intake passages of the enginevia at least one bracket.
 8. The thermal shield of claim 1, wherein thesheet of material defines a thickness ranging from about 14 gage toabout 16 gage.
 9. The thermal shield of claim 1, wherein the sheet ofmaterial defines at least one of an edge configuration and a portioncut-out from an interior portion of the rectangular shape.
 10. Thethermal shield of claim 1, wherein the width dimension is configured togenerally correspond to a distance between a lower edge of a cylinderhead of the engine and an intake passage of the engine.
 11. A system forgenerating electric power, comprising: an engine; an electric machineconfigured to convert mechanical power into electric power, the electricmachine being operably coupled to the engine; a housing defining an areacontaining the engine and at least one air passage configured to provideflow communication between an exterior of the housing an the area; andat least one panel operably associated with the engine and configured todeflect heat associated with operation of the engine.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one panel includes two panels operablyassociated with the engine, wherein each of the two panels is associatedwith opposite sides of the engine.
 13. The system of claim 11, whereinthe at least one panel includes a sheet of material defining a generallyrectangular shape defining a length dimension and a width dimension. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein the sheet of material defines at leastone of an edge configuration and a portion cut-out from an interiorportion of the rectangular shape.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinthe length dimension generally corresponds to a length defined by theengine.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the width dimensiongenerally corresponds to a distance between a lower edge of a cylinderhead of the engine and an intake passage of the engine.
 17. The systemof claim 11, wherein the at least one panel includes a sheet ofmaterial, and the sheet of material is operably coupled to the engine.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the sheet of material is operablycoupled to a block of the engine.
 19. The system of claim 17, whereinthe sheet of material is operably coupled to an intake passage of theengine via at least one bracket.
 20. A method for increasing theeffectiveness of a heat exchanger associated with a system forgenerating electric power, the method including: operably associating atleast one panel with an engine of the system such that the at least onepanel is provided between the engine and a wall of a housing containingthe engine and the heat exchanger, flowing air to the heat exchangerbetween the at least one panel and the wall.